September 18, 2006—A number of recent reports have confirmed the value of wind power, according to a newsletter from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
A report from the Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) assessed the integration of wind generation into utility power systems. “Utility Wind Integration State of the Art” [MOBINA: LIVE LINK TO http://www.uwig.org/UWIGWindIntegration052006.pdf ] (PDF file) found no “fundamental technical barriers at the present time to wind penetrations of up to 20 percent of system peak demand, which is far beyond where we are today”—provided the wind energy projects are designed and operated well.
A study from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) examined the economic impacts of new wind, coal, and natural gas power plants in Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan, and found that wind power plants provided the greatest economic benefit to each state.
Finally, a Frost & Sullivan report expects the quickly growing wind power industry to place tremendous pressure on the supply chain for wind turbines.
Frost & Sullivan’s assessment of the World Wind Energy Generator Market forecasts that the industry will outsource the production of non-essential turbine components, and anticipates that both turbine manufacturers and wind power developers will secure long-term supply contracts to help reduce lead times and keep costs down.
